He's Losing It
by random-uncanon
Summary: Barrel's an angsty teen who hates his life. One day he meets a scruffy girl in the slums. On indefinite hiatus. I might rewrite/finish this eventually because I still like it after all of this time. BxOC LxSh JxSa OBxOC
1. Meeting

About this fic: This takes place seven years after the movie. When I started writing it a while ago, I hadn't beaten Oogie's Revenge yet, so I incorporated some of the aspects of it into this fic, but the game itself hasn't exactly taken place. And yes, this is a 'Sue fic.' I hate Sues just as much as the next girl, but I tried to seem more like I was mocking my OC than idolizing her. Anyway, please no flames and stuff. But I do like reviews. Especially intelligent ones. But not super-duper-criticisms. I make myself better, I write however the ... I want. Be it bad spelling, grammar, etc., don't jump at me about it. Or I'll knife you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Nightmare Before Christ,as, just the begging girl.

It was quiet in Halloween Town. After the defeat of Oogie Boogie seven years ago by the Pumpkin King, all had become fairly peaceful. The townspeople that were outside were doing chores or pleasantly chatting with one another. Everyone seemed happy, except for one boy that was aimlessly walking around with no particular destination in mind. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked pretty miserable. You'd have to be dumb to try and get his attention, though, if you knew who he was.

His name was Barrel; yes, the very same little trick or treater from the Lock, Shock, and Barrel trio. He wasn't little anymore, though. Over the years he had become a lean, strong teen. You didn't have to have a good eye to recognize him; he looked very similar to how he had when he was eight. The only differences were that his short, jade hair was no longer slicked back against his head, and he had updated his wardrobe. His new outfit consisted of a red coat with tails in the back, and a matching pair of baggy pants. A skeleton's bones were drawn onto the clothes, and the vertibrae were his coat buttons. Over his monster-like feet were a pair of shiney black shoes, and on his hands he wore finger-less gloves with skulls on them. His new mask had no skeletal grin on it, not even a jawbone, just four awkward teeth sticking out under the nose. To the passer-by it was a good sign that it wasn't on his face. That meant he was planning mischeif.

He was in a foul mood. That was no suprise, as it seemed that he was always in a foul mood these days. He wouldn't tell anyone, but it was because he was upset with his place in life. Every day that went by seemed to have less and less meaning to him. Lock and Shock were nothing like him anymore, and they were constantly hounding him to focus on his duties as a prankster. He lived for the sole purpose of ending each day, in hopes that some miracle would come along to change everything and make him happy once more.

He wasn't thinking and had somehow managed to wander into the sewage slums. He looked around as he walked along, admiring the grimeyness of it all. Barrel found it one of the more interesting places of Halloween Town, because he rarely had the opportunity to come here- it was seldom that he managed to have a bit of free time away from his partners. A bit deeper into the area, he spotted a girl begging some serpent-man for spare cash.

"Can I have your spare souls, sir? Please, I don't have any money and-" The serpent-man just grunted rudely and continued slithering past her. She was a very plain girl, and there wasn't anything strange or scary about her (which was probably why she was being treated as such). The life of underground poverty had bleached her skin very pale, and her olive eyes and short, scruffy blonde hair looked pale too. Her feet were bare and she was wearing a worn fabric that had been dress sewn together from unmatching rags. Her eyes were weary as she held out her dirty hands to whomever, asking them for some money.

For whatever reason Barrel took an interest in this girl, and approached her with a less-hostile-than-usual look on his face. "Hey," he said.

The girl looked startled; she wasn't used to people addressing _her._ How on earth can you ask someone for money politely if it is _they_ who come up to _you?_ "Uh, hi," she replied in an unsteady voice. Then they just sort of looked at each other for a while, both of them unsure what to say.

"My name's Barrel," said the boy, finally.

The girl nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you."

Barrel scratched his head sheepishly and leaned on a shabby house next to her. "Rough day?" he asked.

"Yeah. No one seems to have any extra money anymore," she sighed, looking tired.

Barrel rolled his eyes. "They have money, they're just too stingy to hand it out to people that actually need it."

The girl stared at him. He didn't look poor at all; on the contrary he looked quite wealthy, so why didn't he offer her some change? "I didn't know that," she said simply. Another silence passed them by.

"It must be tough living down here," he added, looking the stringy girl over. She nodded again. Barrel continued. "No matter where you go, there's always gonna be a place like this. There's always gonna be people starving, out of sight from the only ones that can help. That's why there's no such thing as a good town." The girl looked shocked by his words, but didn't say anything.

The peace was suddenly shattered by the screaming of a girl and a boy. They were up on the surface, and Barrel recognized them as Lock and Shock. They were calling him, again stealing his freedom away for their own sake. He sighed roughly and glanced at the girl again. "Here," he said, carelessly tossing her a pouch filled with coins. She barely caught it in her hands, and stared at him in disbelief, her mouth ajar. "It should be enough to get you through for a few days. See ya." He waved and took off for the surface. The girl started to stutter a "thank you," but he was already too far to hear her anyway.


	2. Just a bit of torture

A Note about this chapter: It's a bit disturbing. It involves a bit of torture, but nothing much. Hey, what would you expect when dealing with a story involving Lock Shock and Barrel? NO FLAMES.

Disclaimer: I don't own Nightmare Before Christmas.

"Where were you!" screeched Shock, knocking Barrel upside the head. Barrel gave her a rough shove.

"None of your business!" he shot back angrily. Shock tried to slug him in the chest but he evaded; if he hadn't then the air would have been knocked out of him. It was nothing unusual, the violent way the three treated each other. They had been like that ever since they met. It was a part of their everyday life.

Lock smashed their foreheads together, causing them to recoil and growl in pain. Barrel fell back on the ground. "Stop it, you two!" Lock hissed, clenching his fists. He turned his head to Barrel, who was struggling to get back up. "Shock and I have been talking about you, Barrel, and we think that you're not living up to your expectations, lately. You know what that means?" He smirked evilly.

Barrel rolled his eyes and replied with a sigh, "You're going to punish me again?"

Shock put her hands on her hips and cackled excitedly. "That's right, cousin! You should've taken things more seriously!"

Barrel frowned and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Whatever, let's just get it over with."

"Oh, jeez, lighten up!" snickered Lock, pretending to be friendly. "It's your fault for lazing around in the first place!" He slapped the jade-haired boy hard on his arm and headed for the tree house. The other two followed, Barrel glaring rebelliously at the ground.

Back at the tree house (where the three of them lived), Barrel was chained to a large wheel in the torture chamber. The look on his face was royally aggitated, but he did not resist. Punishment was never unbearable, just irritating. Lock gripped the heavy wheel with his hands and spun it as hard as he could. It was a relatively good spin, and the wheel turned Barrel fast enough to make him sick. His eyes squeezed shut and he tightened his stomach muscles to keep from getting ill. At one instant his head was toward the cieling, then the floor, and before he knew it it was up again. Shock was standing a few feet across from him. In her arms were several throwing axes, and she was aiming one at the revolving boy. "Hurry it up, I want my turn!" ushered Lock impatiently.

"Shut your trap!" exclaimed Shock, letting the axe go. It flew crookedly and wedged itself between Barrel's left leg and arm. She tried again and again, missing him each time. She was starting to get annoyed when one grazed his arm, slicing a small cut. Barrel bit his lip and kept quiet as some blood flew out of the wound; he was still spinning quite fast. Shock let out a loud hoot, and Lock tackled her to the ground.

"My turn!" He grabbed the leftover axes and hurled them at his roommate. After the first one wedged itself next to Barrel's ear, he chuckled, "Relax, the chance of one of these hitting you is only about forty percent." Another weapon was lodged between the boy's legs.

"Since when did you become a mathmatician?" criticized Shock, her arms crossed. She was watching him behind.

"When you became a lousy aimer." Lock only had one axe left now, and Barrel was mostly unharmed.

"How about you, then!" screamed the witch girl. "You haven't even hit him once! At least I managed that much!"

"If he was still it wouldn't be so hard!" he retorted, letting the last projectile loose. It stuck in the wall behind the wheel. Lock grumbled and pulled out a key from his pocket. The wheel was finally starting to slow.

"If you wanted to hit him so badly, Mr. Big-Shot, you should have aimed for his middle." said Shock with a smirk.

"I WAS!" shouted Lock, losing his temper. Shock let out a shrill laugh. Lock brought the wheel to a stop with his foot. Barrel's head was lolling about, his sense of up and down completely lost. Lock jammed the key into the shackles and Barrel tumbled to the floor, unable to move at all. "That'll teach ya," said Lock with satisfaction. "Hey, Shock, let's go get some dinner."

"Yeah, I'm starving!" she agreed ravenously.

Barrel just laid on the floor, too disoriented to budge or think. The slight cut on his arm stung, but there wasn't a thing to be done about it at the moment.


	3. What's in a Name

Four days went by, and things were going slow for Lock, Shock, and Barrel. The former two mostly stayed at home, playing dangerous games with one another to amuse themselves. Barrel took this as an opportunity to escape again. He thought of the odd girl from the slums, and wondered if her money was running low yet. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to pay her a visit.

It was raining that day, and everything looked positively melancholy. Some children were out, hyperly playing around in the falling drops. Barrel just walked on, his head bowed slightly. He didn't have anything to shield himself from the rain, but he didn't care; the rain was refreshing and unusual. He turned into the opening in the brick wall that led down into the sewage slums. The rain couldn't get in here, so everything was dry, unless the sewer muck had splattered onto it. The girl wasn't out begging today, so he continued to look for her. He worked his way through the trash to the back, where the roof ended and the rain splattered the ground once more. It was a cramped little area with a bunch of miserable little houses jumbled together. Normally people hung their clothes out to dry on lines that ran from one house to the one across from it, but today that was out of the question. Barrel scanned the area but didn't see a single person. He stepped boldly into the alley where the poorest of the poor lived. In another moment he would've turned and went some other place, but the door directly in front of him, from the slimmest house, opened and the girl from before poked her head out.

"Hi, Barrel," she greeted, her face illuminated with curiousity. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what you were up to," he said, not in the least bit ashamed of it.

The girl smiled. It was a tiny, pleasant smile. "Do you want to come inside?" she offered, opening the door to its widest. Barrel surveyed his surroundings one more time, and nodded surely. She moved out of his way and he stepped inside the ridiculously thin house, shutting the moldy wooden door behind him. Inside, the floor was only big enough for him to lay down on his back and stick his arms past his head, if he would have tried- and he was by no means the tallest person he knew. There was a hatch on the ceiling, probably leading to a room above as small as this one. The only furnature was a three-legged stool in the center of the room, and an overturned box in one corner.

"So how much money do you have left?" he asked her, sitting down on the floor.

"Please, sit on the stool. The floor is no place for someone as nice as you," she pleaded, taking her own seat on the box. Barrel made a face to himself. He, nice? Hardly! This girl knew nothing of him, how could she make an assumption about him just because he gave her a little donation once? For all she knew, he could be planning to pull some horrible joke on her right then, or rob her of what little she had. Nonetheless, he sat on the stool as she wished.

"Is it almost gone?" he asked again, looking her in the eyes. She diverted her gaze to her lap, where she was fiddling with the tattered hem of her dress. Barrel shook his head slightly, and some water flew out of his hair and lightly coated the walls.

"I still have a little left. I've been trying not to spend it all." she replied sullenly.

He grinned widely. "That's all right. At least you're smarter than some others I know." Then a realization came to him. "Wait a minute, I don't even know your name! Who are you?" He tried to hide how dumb he felt.

The girl's face turned pink. "I'm Holly. I know, it's a stupid name. People say it fits me though, because I'm not like everyone else."

"Holly." Barrel repeated, like a parrot. "That's not a bad name. But you're right, you're not like everyone else." He looked her over again. "There's nothing that makes you stand out or anything. But there's nothing wrong with that," he hastily added the last part, to avoid hurting her feelings. He couldn't tell if he had or not, but she was quiet. He apted to change the subject. "Do you live by yourself here?"

Holly nodded and stared at her bare feet. "I don't ever remember having any parents. But there was a lady who came to see me, when I was little. Her name was... Sally, I think, and she was really nice to me. She taught me how to sew, and helped me make this dress. She doesn't come by anymore, so I get really lonely," she sighed.

Barrel's eyes went wide. "She's busy these days. Do you know why?" Holly shook her head. "She got married many years ago- to the Pumpkin King. They have a daughter now, I guess she sucks up all of Sally's time."

Holly closed her eyes. She had wanted Sally to be a mother to her, but it looked like that could never happen now. "Oh."

Barrel felt like his appearance was only depressing her, so he tried to turn things around. "I don't have any parents, either. They got killed in some accident when I was five years old. No one ever found out what happened to them." Holly looked at him with a sad expression on her face.

"That's terrible. You must miss them so much." She sounded genuinely sorry.

"Cheer up a little, okay? You're too glum." Barrel grinned and said good-naturedly, "You need some life pumped into you. Maybe later we can go have some fun together."

Holly stood up, eagerly. "You mean it?"

"Sure. My life's pretty boring. I need something new to do." He held out his arms as if to say, "but what'cha gonna do, you know?" Barrel got to his feet and put his hand on the door. "I gotta get going. I'll see you later." Holly nodded and he went back out into the heavy rain. Before the door could close again, it swung back open and the girl rushed out to him.

"Bye!" she called, waving.

Barrel smacked his forehead and reached into his pocket. "Whoops, almost forgot. Here ya go," he murmured as he threw her another pouch of souls. The coins clinked as they settled in her hands.

Holly looked a bit upset and said, "Oh, no, you didn't have to-" but the rain was too loud, and Barrel walked on. When he had gone a few more paces, he turned back to see if she had gone back inside yet. To his dismay, she was caught in a struggle with a ratty-looking woman over the money she had just been given. Barrel's face became hard and he rushed back to where he had left her.

"Give me that! You don't deserve it!" hollered the ratty woman, pulling hard on the pouch.

"I'll share it with you, just give it back!" Holly cried. She was loosing her grip on the souls, being the weaker of the two. "Come on, it's mine!" she whined. If it weren't raining at that moment, you would have been able to see her lost-looking eyes filling with childish and embarrassing tears.

"Stop it!" ordered Barrel. The two others ceased struggling and met his glare with shocked eyes. Holly let the pouch go, and the woman clutched it greedily.

"I'm sorry," mumbled Holly shamefully.

"I'm not mad at you," Barrel corrected before closing in on the theif. "That was a gift, and it wasn't for you. _No one_ steals gifts _I_ give. Don't you know who I am?" he threatened, his eyes closing into dangerous slits.

The woman shifted uneasily, but her tone remained firm. "I wouldn't. You don't live around here. I only know those who are poor, like me. If you were anyone worth knowing you wouldn't be wasting your cash on children like her. If you were smart you'd give it to _me,_ I have a family to feed."

Barrel shook his head, a psychotic little angry smile on his face. "Get a job. At least you have the ability to support yourself. You're an adult; how can you be so disgusting and stupid? There isn't a single legal job _this_ girl can get to survive. Would you rather have her work the streets?" he hissed malevolently. The woman was shrinking against a dumpster now.

"He's Barrel! From Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and he's way more dangerous than you!" shouted Holly, crossing her arms. "And you'd better be nice to me, 'cause he's my friend and he'll beat you up!" she warned immaturely, smiling proudly. The woman shifted her eyes from Barrel to Holly and back again.

"THE Barrel!" she croaked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and Holly's right. Unless you want to get seriously messed up, give her back that pouch and apologize to my friend," he went on, amused by Holly's uncharacteristic outburst.

The ratty woman sneered and dropped the pouch at Holly's feet. "Sorry," she grumbled, and locked herself inside of a house.

"You know what, Holly?" Barrel began as the blonde retrieved the money.

"What?" she asked, shy again.

"I was wrong. Some people belong in here after all." He smirked and departed from her once more, and she stared after him with an amused stare.


	4. Midnight Call

A/N: This chapter might be a bit short, but I don't fucking care. :P Long chapters suck cuz they take too long to read and I have a VERY short attention span. And DUMDUMDUM. A plot begins to develop. Harharhar. Whatever. Wasn't there something else I wanted to say? I don't remember. Now review or die, unless you plan on flaming me (I swear I'll cut you) or you just wanna bitch about grammar or something stupid like that. Oh, I remember now. Just to clear things up, Barrel and Shock are cousins, not all three of them. That would make Lock and Shock related and that would be incest. o.o

"Wake up, stupid!" Barrel's eyes snapped open when Lock hissed into his ear. "We have to go see Oogie!" he informed, and slammed Barrel's door behind him. The pale boy rubbed his eyes and mumbled nonsense to himself groggily. What could Oogie possibly need them for so late at night? It was just dumb... he needed his sleep. It was the only thing that kept him going in the morning.

Barrel snatched up his clothes from the floor. He changed into them and left his pajama pants on his bed. He stumbled around in the darkness and found his mask. A little clumsily, he put it on and opened the door to join the other two, who were wide awake. They glared at him with their hands on their hips, and grabbed his wrists. "What the heck is going on?" he asked, yawning as he was yanked with them into the elevator.

"Oogie sent for us. He must have something really important to talk about." explained Shock, looking a bit irritated and red-eyed herself.

Contrary to popular belief, Oogie was still alive. He had not been killed by Jack, as people had thought. He remained down in his lair, where Lock, Shock, and Barrel had sewn him back together with much effort. That was back when Barrel still cared about him. Now, though, he wished that the big oaf was dead; then he would be free once more. But for the time being, Oogie was his boss and provided him with a place to live.

Barrel lagged behind the other two as they silently slipped through the black night. It was freezing and he could even see his own breath. He was so desperate for warmth he was tempted to just curl up right there on the ground and go to sleep, or die. Somehow he kept up with the others, and dropped down the hidden passage into the lair. Oogie faced them. He looked eager to get out whatever it was he had to say. Lock and Shock stood straight and alert, but Barrel was haunched over, shivering and rubbing his arms.

"It's about time you delinquents got here. I've got something big to discuss with you three." Oogie started pacing back and forth. "It's been a long, long time since that fool, Jack, tried to best me. I've been thinking that I finally have enough bugs to do him in, now. There's just one problem: how to make a big reappearance. Barrel, stop that shivering, you're ruining my concentration. As I was saying, how do I reintroduce myself to the pathetic town? Well, I need you three to go on a little scouting mission. You hear me? Go observe Jack, but don't let anyone see you. Go find what makes him weak. Then immediately report back to me. Got it?" He bent down to face them, looking nothing less than menacing. The older two nodded in fear, but Barrel just glared back at him.

"Um, excuse me, Lord Oogie, sir," whispered Lock timidly. Oogie raised an eyebrow and reared his head back to look at him fully. "Can it wait until tomorrow? I mean, it doesn't have to, but we're kinda sleepy-"

"Well, DUH!" roared the boss, causing Lock and Shock to shrink back in fear. "How would you expect to gather information when he's sleeping? Go on, now, get out of my face! I've got to go make a gamble."

The three scrambled up the rope and disappeared into the small passage that would take them back to the surface.

After they had regained a sufficient amount of sleep, Lock, Shock, and Barrel proceeded to carry out their scouting mission. They each were wearing their own masks, as they always did on Oogie's missions. Instead of going through town to get to Jack's house, they went around it and managed to clamber into his yard. Through a window they could see him engaging in an involving conversation with someone. "How do we get in without him noticing?" asked Lock.

"I have to go to the bathroom," lied Barrel.

"Fine, just get right back," ordered his cousin, Shock.

Barrel started back down the route they had came from. Instead of going to the bathroom, he snuck down into the slums again, quite sure no one had seen him. Once he was safely hidden in the glum area, he ran to Holly's house and knocked steadily on the door. There was some shuffling and she opened the door for him, a modestly suprised look on her face. "I have an idea," he said. His mask hid the smirk he was wearing. Holly cocked her head to the side with curiousity. "Meet me at Behemoth's pumpkin patch tonight at ten o'clock. I have to go, don't forget!" he whispered pleadingly. Holly just smiled and nodded.


	5. A Promise

A/N: Once again: was too lazy to update. :P Once again: recieved review and was motivated to update. I'm glad there are still people reading this. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Or maybe I'm just getting sick to my stomach. Thank you specifically ZombieHitlerMonkeyTrash and hardcore. You guys get gold stars. Anyway, here's the next chapter. :3 And there's more "Sue-ness" in this chap, so if you don't like Holly by now, you shouldn't even be reading this story.

Barrel met up with the others on his way back to Jack's house. His stomach dropped and his face flared up. "Sorry it took me so long." he mumbled sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter. We got what we needed to know." cackled Shock in a sing-song voice.

"No thanks to you," continued Lock. "And don't think we're not gonna tell Oogie that you slacked off again. We're getting all the credit this time!" the devil boy teased. Barrel shrugged. At least they weren't going to _punish_ him again.

"So how'd you get in?" he asked, although he couldn't care less.

"The chimney," said Shock, wrinkling her nose in distaste. Barrel then noticed that the two of them were covered in soot.

"What did you find out?" Barrel went on, pretending to be interested.

"Jack has a daughter that he loves very much!" exclaimed Lock, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Oogie will be delighted to hear this."

Barrel suddenly felt uneasy. What would Oogie do to Jack's little daughter? Sandy Claws was one thing, but a little girl? If it came down to it, Barrel decided he would defy Oogie if it came to that. When he thought about it, he didn't know why he'd risk his life for someone else, though.

So Barrel went back to the tree house while Lock and Shock reported back to Oogie. When they came back they told him Oogie said they could relax and throw a party, because he needed to think up a plan, and that meant they'd have at least a few days off. They then proceeded to say that Barrel wasn't welcome to join their party unless he agreed to be the pinata. Barrel declined. So instead of hanging around, he hung up his mask and took a nap, since he was still groggy from his sleep being disturbed the previous night. He slept soundly for several hours, despite the loud partying from the other two in the next room over. When he woke up, however, it was quiet. He peered out through the space between his door and the floor. Lock and Shock were passed out on the floor, snoring, just as he had expected. This was what happened whenever they spent so much energy at once.

A quick glance at the clock told Barrel that it was 10:45. It took him a minute of pulling on his shoes before the color drained from him. What time was it that he had told Holly to go wait for him? Almost panicking, he sprinted out of his room and back into the cage elevator. When it descended, it squeaked wickedly, but the others didn't even flinch. Wasn't he supposed to be there an hour ago? "Why me?" he whined to himself, opening the cage door and running as fast as he could in the direction of the pumpkin patch.

He looked around frantically at the entrance. Squinting into the distance, he thought he could see a figure leaning against a fence. He was so exhausted from running that he could barely stumble in that direction. His breath was coming fast and heavy, and his legs felt like they would just melt into the ground at any moment, if his knees didn't dissolve first. Barrel had never been a good runner. When he was younger, he was a bit pudgy, but that just went away on its own. Even when he did try running, he usually just ended up tripping all over himself and looking like an idiot.

He collapsed onto his hands and knees as soon as he made it to the silhouette. His eyes squeezed shut, and tears of exhaustion and nothing more slipped between his eyelids against his will. His throat was dry and sore, and he couldn't get his breathing to calm down. He had run too far too fast, and overwhelmed himself. His vision started to swirl, and he felt a soft hand on his cheek. It felt cool and welcoming in contrast to his hot and screaming skin. Somehow, it helped him relax, and he recovered some of his strength. Looking up, he saw Holly, bent over him, looking scared. Her large, olive eyes stared directly back into his, and he would have blushed had his face not been red already. He could tell by checking her over that she was freezing, and had been waiting a long time. "S... sorry..." he panted, bowing his head in shame. Holly stroked his cheek for a moment and knelt down in front of him.

"You're so warm..." she murmured, rubbing her arms. Barrel got another idea. He grabbed her around her back and pulled her close to him. His body radiated an amazing amount of heat to hers, and she looked embarrassed. She didn't pull away, though, and Barrel worried that he had upset her.

"I'm really sorry I'm so late. I didn't mean to, I ran the whole way. I hope you don't get sick, it's all my fault. I overslept. I'm sorry," he rambled, patting her back in another attempt to warm up the practically naked girl. She shivered and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the immense warmth from his neck.

"It's okay. I can tell you're sorry," she comforted, her voice drowsy-sounding. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Barrel racked his brain for the forgotten piece of information. Ever since Lock woke him up the night before, he had been having sufficient trouble thinking. "Um... hold on." He tried to rewind his mind to when he had visited her that morning. "I wanted to ask you- I wanted to ask you... if you'd like to have a good place to live, as much food as you want every day, and uh, a family." said the boy, wondering if he sounded too stupid after all.

Holly lifted her head and stared him in the face with an anxious expression. "I'd do anything for that," she whispered, her voice cracking. Her eyes seemed glazed over, but it could have just been the darkness making them look that way.

Barrel stared back at her with a nervous frown. "It's not that hard, you know. All you have to do is promise not to tell."

Holly didn't understand. "Promise not to tell what?"

Barrel held her tighter, as if almost trying to force her to promise. "You have to promise first," he insisted.

Silence. Then, "Okay, I promise."

Barrel sighed with relief. "All right. You can come live with me, but only on one condition: you can't tell that Oogie Boogie is still around." He watched closely to see her reaction. She was scared, even more so that when he had first looked at her that night. There was a trace of skepticism about her, but she did nor said nothing to magnify it. She just gazed at the ground with a frightened look on her face. "Please don't tell," he pleaded.

"I won't. But, please, when can I go live with you?" she asked suddenly, grabbing onto his collar for security, almost for protection it seemed.

"Right now, if you can handle going all the way back to my house," he replied, doubtfully shaking his head. After a pause, Holly nodded, and stood to her feet. Barrel did so as well. "Let's go, then. It takes a while. I'm just worried you're going to freeze. I'd give you my jacket but I'm not wearing anything underneath, and-" Holly interrupted him by wedging herself between his torso and his arm, her eyes wide from the sudden shock of the cold. Barrel smiled and closed his hand around her arm to lock in some warmth. They didn't talk much the way back to the tree house; it was too frigid. He directed her through the darkness to the elevator, and startled her by speaking. "I'll, uh, tell you now: my roommates are kinda... kinda rough. If they bother you just get me."

"Is it that bad?" she asked timidly. The lift came to a creaky stop and they stepped out. It was even darker inside than outside, and the others' snoring could still be heard. His nerves a bit calmed by this, Barrel gently took Holly's hand to guide her. "Where are we going?" she whispered.

"To my room. No one will bother us there. Not until tomorrow, at least." They carefully stepped over the stray weapons and overturned pieces of furnature. Holly nearly tripped and let out a tiny gasp, but caught herself just in time. She was giddy at the thought of perhaps actually having a nice, warm bed to sleep in. Barrel stuck out his hand in front of him and felt for the doorknob. Once he found it, he twisted it slowly, so it wouldn't squeak if possible, and they entered his square room. He closed the door and turned on the light. They winced at the sudden change, and waited for their eyes to adjust. Once she could open her eyes, Holly took in her surroundings.

Barrel's skeleton mask was hanging above a small desk, which was to her left. To her right was a locked chest, shoved up against the wall. Directly behind her was a queen-sized bed, and a window. The door was in the wall in front of her.

Barrel kicked off his shoes, peeled off his gloves, and sat down on the bed. The design on the comforter was an orange and black spiral, reminiscent of his favorite kind of lollipop when he was little. Holly stared at him with an uneasy look on her face. She stood still and shuffled her feet, as if she was saying "what do you want me to do?" Barrel patted the space next to him, inviting her to sit down. "I'm guessing you'll want to sleep on my bed tonight?" he asked, glaring down at his lap and blushing. "I'll just sleep on the floor."

After a short pause, Holly responded by firmly saying, "You don't have to sleep on the floor, silly, it's your room. You can sleep next to me, if you want; I won't bite." She sounded a bit playful and naive. Stealing a glance at the girl, Barrel saw an innocent smile upon her lips. He felt better, and smiled back. He got back to his feet and unzipped his coat. He tossed it and it landed on the crooked chest. Holly giggled and covered her eyes when she saw his bare back, making his face turn red again, but he laughed along with her. He reached under his bed and pulled out a pair of black cotton pants, then exchanged the pair he was wearing for them. At his signal, she freed her eyes and crawled over to the side of the bed that was against the wall. Smiling, she pushed down the blanket and snuggled into place beneath it. Barrel hesitated a moment, scratching his head, and wondered if this was really okay after all. He came to the conclusion that it didn't matter, and turned out the lights. Holly stifled another immature giggle.


	6. An Interesting Find

A/N: I already did but I'd like to thank Sydney Daimao for her lengthy reviews on my story. Lol. And thanks again to hiddenstars who was hardcore. :D Well, next chapter should come out in a week as per usual. Oh. This chapter contains a very... weird... LxS moment. xD And let me make this clear, ONE MORE TIME: **LOCK AND SHOCK ARE NOT COUSINS IN THIS STORY.** Only SHOCK and BARREL are. I have stated this before, in chapter four's Author Note. It strikes me as amusing that people remember Shock calling Barrel her cousin but not this note: "Just to clear things up, Barrel and Shock are cousins, not all three of them. That would make Lock and Shock related and that would be incest." Maybe they weren't reading the author notes. That is fine, since I have a bad habit of threatening people, but please, PLEASE don't go assuming such things. Besides, fanfics are not the place for moral judgements, even if Lock and Shock HAD been cousins in this story. Well, I'm done.

He woke the next morning just after the sun had started to rise. The sky outside the window was a melting, romantic mess of pink, orange, and blue. Holly was curled over his chest, breathing softly. Her arm was wrapped around him and her hand was clutching the blankets just below his shoulder. He felt so peaceful, then; for the first time in his life, it seemed. It was different from the thrill he used to get, so long ago, from putting lives in danger. The cut on his arm didn't look as bad as it had felt, and was almost invisible now. He had always been a fast healer.

At that moment Holly slowly stirred. Her hand kneaded the handful of covers for a second, and then she sat up with a jump, pink in the face. Her hands fiddled nervously in her lap. Barrel sat up and laughed. After a minute, he said, "I have to take you to see_ him _today."

"Who?" she murmured.

"Oogie."

She didn't reply; just kept messing with her hands. Barrel grabbed her shoulder. "Look, don't be scared, I won't let him hurt you. Okay?" Holly sighed and nodded. The mock-skeleton boy patted her shoulder and withdrew his hand. "We should get going before Lock and Shock wake up, they still have no idea you're here. I'd hate to catch them right after one of their wild parties." He smirked and set his feet on the floor. Holly hesitated for a minute, then followed.

Oogie Boogie was not pleased.

"WHAT KIND OF FOOL, BOTHERS ME, WHEN I'M PLOTTING!" roared the bug-filled terror. Barrel's eyebrows raised in temporary suprise, and Holly cowered behind him.

"But, Mr. Oogie! I have to ask you-!" exclaimed Barrel, startled. Oogie noticed the pathetic creature that was Holly and quietted. He leaned around the boy, and spoke in a low, menacing tone.

"And who... is this?" he spat.

Holly could not help shaking visibly. She bit her lower lip and tried in vain to be invisible. She opened her mouth in a feeble attempt to introduce herself, but no sound came, save a whimper.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about," continued the jade-haired boy when he saw that his companion was unable to breathe a word. Oogie sneered and pulled away, awaiting the proposition. "This girl is called Holly. She is an orphan, like me, and lives by herself in a shabby little house. I wanted to ask you if she could work with me, uh, for you, and live in the tree house." He stared firmly at Oogie, who put his tentacle-like hand under his chin while he reasoned.

"She looks weak," he stated severely.

"She does," agreed Barrel, taking a sidelong glance at the terrified blonde. Holly's heart jumped into her throat.

"She's not scary at all," Oogie further criticized.

"In fact, she's quite pretty," Barrel added. Holly shot him a desperate look- he didn't seem to be helping her situation very much.

"So she is..." murmured Oogie. He pivetted around and waddled over to his roulette table. A deadly silence. Barrel was watching Oogie with interest, while Holly glared at the ground with tears in her silly eyes. Behind his back, Oogie was seething. Oh, young love. And such interesting specimens. What Oogie wouldn't give for a woman- but what woman would be able to stand him? Giving in merely out of remorse, he spat, "Fine, she can stay. But I won't pay her, like I do you, Lock, and Shock. No, she'll be of no use to me. Only you seem to want her. Go ahead, keep her- but you'll have to feed her. Now get out."

"Ah, thanks-"

"GET-"

"-sir, I really-"

"OOOOUUUUUTTTTT!"

"-Y-YES SIR!"

Barrel snatched at Holly's hand and bolted out of there. When they emerged from the secret entrance, he was haunched over, silently heaving for air. Holly just stood there with a preturbed look on her face, arms crossed and pouting. Barrel caught his breath and did a double take on her. "What's wrong with you? You should be happy, I just saved your butt from the slums." he snapped.

Holly's arms dropped. Her face softened and she sniffled. "He was treating me like an animal. 'You keep her,' 'feed her,' 'she's useless to me!'" she whined, on the verge of tears. Barrel resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her childishness. Instead he just cracked an amused half-smile and grabbed her hand protectively. She shot him a glare, as if to say, 'don't you have anything to say?'

The sun was already high into the sky by the time they made it back to the tree house. Things could be heard crashing around up there; Barrel knew that the Deadly Duo had woke up. "Gosh, what's going on with them?" asked Holly fearfully, squeezing Barrel's hand.

"Who knows?" spat Barrel irritably; he wasn't in the mood for another one of Lock and Shock's tantrums. The lift rose up into the room, and Barrel and Holly's jaws dropped. They had caught Lock and Shock rolling around on the floor, crashing into everything in their path, making out wildly. Barrel turned about three shades paler, if that was even possible. The two older teens were so into their "activity" that they hadn't even noticed Barrel and Holly's return. "What in the heck are you guys doing!" he demanded, his face now darkening with red. Lock and Shock turned their heads to them at his voice, mortified. Shock took one look at Lock and roughly pushed him off of her. He fell flat on his back and scrambled up and into his bedroom. Shock fled down the lift and out of the tree house.

Barrel coughed and looked at Holly, who was shuffling her feet and looking off to the side, blushing. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Well. That was weird as shit. What say we go do something wholesome?"

Holly looked confused. "Huh?"

Barrel grinned and went over to his door. "I've got a big stash of candy if you want some," he informed.

Holly squealed and pushed ahead of him. He just shook his head, sighed, and entered after her.


	7. Lady Luck

A/N: Short chap, all about Oogie.

Oogie rubbed his temples irritably. He had a splitting headache, but he had a basic idea in his head. His minions were going to kidnap Jack's daughter and bring her to him. He would then announce to the town that he was in control, and bait Jack to come to him. In exchange for his daughter, Jack would hand over the rights to be king of Halloween Town. It was so simple, yet so foolproof.

But right now his head hurt too much to make him want to order around Lock, Shock, Barrel, and that shabby little whats-her-name. That would have to wait.

There was a creak in the room. It took Oogie a minute to notice it, but he slowly realized it wasn't supposed to be there. His eyes became slits and he silently scanned the room for any... unexpected company.

Then he noticed that his headache was gone. In fact, he felt really good. Well, physically, anyway. "All right," he bellowed, turning around, "I know you're here. You can't hide from me, come out from where you are..."

Sultry laughter echoed around the room from all directions, and a strange woman manifested a few feet from Oogie.

She was unlike any other person he had ever seen. She glowed brightly, which hinted that she wasn't from Halloween Town. She had freckles on her cheeks and shocking emerald eyes. Her wavy mass of red hair fell all around her enticingly, and her ears were long and thin and pointed. She was wearing a green and black dress with one short sleeve and one long sleeve. On her head was a sort of crown that matched her dress. She was floating leisurely, and millions of green sparkles seemed to dance around her, coming from her. She looked like what results when you give a six year old construction paper and glitter-glue. In other words, _completely_ overdone.

"Who are you!" he screamed in amazement, stumbling back a bit from the shock.

She laughed again, and Oogie got the distinct impression this woman was very full of herself. "Hello, Oogie. I understand you want to take over Halloween Town?"

He noticed a black four-leaf-clover was etched onto her green apron. Eyeing her suspiciously, he said, "You can't just float on in here, doll. What exactly are you getting at?"

She grinned tauntingly at him. "I'm here to help you, Oogie. You _know_ you can't win by yourself, right? Just like you failed the last time... You were almost killed for good, you know."

"I do not need random glowing women popping up just to remind me," he growled. "Now tell me who you are, before I get really angry."

The woman almost shreiked with laughter this time, and then wiped her eyes and crossed her arms. "I am Lady Luck. Being a gambler and all, I'm _sure_ you've heard of me."

Oogie raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were just an expression."

"Not quite. I'm as real as you. In fact, I'm the holiday leader of St. Patrick's Day, the _queen_ of Clover City!" she boasted merrily.

Oogie rubbed his hands together, smirking. "Lady _Luck,_ huh... So, then, how do you intend to help me?"

"You might call me the greatest good luck charm ever. See, I can bring luck to whomever I please. I'll give you the luck you need to win against Jack and conquer this place."

"Sounds promising. But what's in it for you?" he asked carefully, staring her in the eyes. He didn't quite know if he should trust her or not.

"Treading carefully, Oogie? Very well, then. I lost one of my children somewhere in this world many years ago. I'd like you to find my child for me once I help you win Halloween Town.

Oogie tapped the roulette table with his tentacle hand. "I'm not a miracle worker, Miss Luck. What does your child look like?"

Lady Luck's eyes averted off to the side and she appeared a bit flustered. "Well, that's the problem... I don't know. I lost it when it was born. I don't even remember if it was a girl or a boy!" She laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "But, I can tell you, it will have red hair and green eyes like me. But that's all I can say... I'm not sure who the father is."

Oogie snickered to himself. What a deranged woman. "All right. I guess that sounds reasonable. Miss Luck, you have yourself a deal."


	8. Welcome Home

A/N: Thanks again to all of my reviewers! Glad you all still like it. Sorry this chapter is boring, but the next chapter gets interesting.

Barrel raised an eyebrow as Holly shoved mouthful after mouthful of candy into her mouth. Sour worms, chocolate screechies, lollipops, she wanted it all. "That can_not _be healthy," he mumbled to himself, trying to turn away from the slightly disturbing human vaccuum in front of him. Holly either didn't hear him or didn't care, and kept on inhaling amazingly large portions of candy. "You're gonna make yourself sick, you know," he sneered, and she stopped, one hand half-way to her mouth and the other emmersed in the pile of candy.

She blinked innocently at him. "I am?"

He found it hard not to laugh at her. "Uh huh. Eating too much of anything too fast is like telling your body, 'hey, let's puke.' And the fact that it's _that_ stuff is going to make it even worse."

Holly's face faultered and she scooted back from the heap of candy, looking upset. What an amusing little dummy.

That day Lock and Shock were nowhere to be seen. Barrel thought it was hilarious, but kept it to himself because he really didn't want to stir up his cohorts. The pair hung around the house and Holly demonstrated her ability of wielding weapons.

Although, you could hardly call it an ability. It was more like an attempt. A potentially dangerous and unstable attempt involving near decapitation of both teenagers numerous times, until Barrel, a nervous grin spreading across his face, took the weapons from her hands and suggested she not play with them anymore.

That night, things were less awkward when they fell asleep next to each other, and luckily when they woke up the next morning, they had remained on their own side of the mattress.

That day was a tad different from the one before.

Just as Barrel had feared, Lock and Shock's embarrassment had quickly become anger and bitterness, which they would direct towards Holly. Barrel had left the treehouse early to go to the bathroom, and Holly ventured into the main room by herself, where she was immediately confronted by the devil and the witch.

"So," said Lock tauntingly, a hostile air about him as he crossed his arms. "Just who are you, anyway? Barrel hasn't said shit to us lately, and we're getting pretty pissed about him keeping secrets from us."

"Are you, like his girlfriend, or something?" criticized Shock with her hands on her hips, checking the scrawny, poor excuse for a girl up and down. "Leave it to him to pick a stupid looking brat like you," she grumbled.

Holly was, as you would probably guess, terrified. She started messing with the hem of her dress again and tried to sputter out an explanation. "Ah, uhh, well-"

"And why the heck did you come out of his bedroom anyway?" seethed Lock. In his eyes, what he and Shock had done was probably nothing in comparison to whatever Barrel and this weird little girl had most likely done.

Holly's face glowed bright pink. "We didn't do anything, really! We were just sleeping!" she pleaded.

Shock smirked evilly to her boyfriend. That's right, her _boyfriend._ "Aw, Lock, they were just _sleeping_ together!"

Lock held down the blast of laughter that was ready to bubble up and out of him. "This is better than any dirt that loser could ever have on us, you know." He turned to Holly and pushed her up against Barrel's closed door and she hit it with a grunt.

"Now tell us who you are and what exactly you're doing here," demanded the redhead, any trace of a smile now gone from his crazed face.

"I, I'm Holly - I c-c-came from the poor part of town... Barrel said it was okay if I come live with you guys..." she sputtered. The others had to lean in to hear her pitiful explanation.

Shock gritted her teeth and squeezed her hands into fists. She was dying to decapitate this girl. "Oh yeah? Well, that idiot's not the boss around here! Who's he to make a decision like that by himself!" When Holly just stood there, trembling like a fool, Shock backhanded her across the face. The blonde cried out and sunk to the floor, assuming the fetal position for protection.

"Ahh! Please! Your Mr. Oogie said it was okay too!" she cried desperately, covering her head with her arms.

Lock doubtfully raised an eyebrow. "He took you to Oogie?"

"Yes!"

"Liar!" he accused, kicking her roughly to the side with his foot and taking pleasure in her cries and pain.

"Hey, Lock, I got an idea," chuckled Shock, tilting her head back and smiling. "Why don't we stretch her? I'm _dying_ to hurt something!"

Lock laughed maniacally. "What a great idea! We haven't stretched anything to death in a while. It'll be fun."

Holly's eyes widened and her heart thundered but she was unable to flee.

"God_damn_ it," grumbled a voice that made the three turn their heads to the elevator.

"Barrel!" shouted Holly in relief, scrambling over to him. He had his hands in his pockets again and he looked pissed as he glared at his partners, who in turn glared back.

"Can't you guys control that bloodlust even a little bit? And what _are_ you doing to Holly?"

"Stop yappin' like a conceited bastard," demanded Shock. "You're no better than us. Now start explaining."

"I told them about what Oogie said, Barrel, but they don't believe me..." said Holly, hiding behind him.

Barrel sighed impatiently. "Go talk to him yourselves if you don't wanna believe. I don't think he'd be very happy about it, though. He was in a real bad mood when I last saw him."

Lock and Shock didn't say anything, they just glanced at each other. Even though they weren't talking, they both knew what they wanted to do.

And that was rough things up for Holly. Why? Because she was stupid.


	9. Stuff Happens

A/N: K so this is a few days late cuz I was too lazy to post it. Bad me. I guess.

That night Oogie sent for his minions again. The four of them were walking side-by-side to his lair in the blackness.

Shock glared sidelong at Holly. "I still don't see why we have to bring _her_ with us. She'll just get in the way!" she huffed. She was mostly upset because Barrel hadn't left the girl alone since he had come back from the bathroom that morning.

"Oh, quit complaining, Shock! You talk too much," grumbled Lock, who was to her left. Her constant bickering was beginning to grate on his nerves for once.

To Shock's right was Barrel. "I don't see why you guys are making it into such a big deal. You barely even saw her today. Why don't you just give her a chance?"

"She doesn't deserve one!" snapped Shock. Perhaps one of the reasons she was so annoyed with Holly was because the girl was... well... a girl. And, having another female in the tree house, so near her Lock, made her feel threatened. Yeah, let's go with that.

Holly's arms were crossed and she (to Barrel's right) was glaring off to the side. "I don't see why everyone has to talk about me. I'm barely even here!"

"That's what I said," agreed Barrel with a carefree yawn. He had recently abandoned badass mode for casual relaxed guy mode in an attempt to lighten things up.

Shock grunted loudly. She was beginning to develop S&M withdrawl and really, really wanted to go wreak havoc. Lock decided it was best not to get on her nerves right now, so he didn't say anything.

Oogie greeted them looking rather pleasant (in a sinister, evil way, of coarse). He was smirking and had his hands on his hips. "I must thank you all for arriving on such short notice. But let me get straight to the point: I, after some thinking, have come up with an ingenius plan to become king of Halloween Town." He surveyed the expressions of the four. Shock looked aggitated but eager, Lock just looked aggitated and restless, Barrel looked nonchalant, and that scrawny girl looked, well, scrawny.

"Shock, new little disciple, you two are going to go, unnoticed, and kidnap Jack's daughter. It shouldn't be too hard, judging from what you told me about her. Lock, Barrel... you are going to create a diversion so that the subject can be attained. One of you will go stir up some trouble with Jack, and make sure that Doll Face doesn't get in the way. Any questions?"

_"How _long did it take him to think up this "highly creative, flawless and unobvious" plan?" murmured a snickering Lock when he was sure Oogie couldn't hear.

"Be quiet. At least he's in a good mood," warned Shock, tapping her foot impatiently.

Lady Luck was watching them, hidden from view in a secret room. "So, these are the little evil-doers..." she mused. "They're not even adults yet. I'll have to make sure that they have ample luck to deal with someone like Jack..." Then she noticed Holly. "I don't remember Oogie saying anything about _that_ one... She looks... plain..." But Lady Luck shrugged it off, because there were other things that were more important, like her make-up, for one.

Satisfied that his underlings seemed to comprehend their orders, Oogie sent them off for the night.

The idea was to lure away Jack and Sally, causing their child to be unattended at the house. Then she would be whisked away to the lair, and everything would start to fall into place.

In the kitchen, Sally was humming to herself and preparing lunch for the picnic. It was a beautiful day, and little Minerva was playing outside with Zero and the moths. Life was calm and sweet for Sally, and she couldn't picture it ever being better. All she needed to be happy was Jack, her daughter, and the lively world of Halloween Town.

For a few years she had been cutting her hair to her chin. She wanted a new look for her new life. She wanted Jack's opinion on it, but he said it didn't matter what she did with her hair, he would be happy even if she shaved it all off. She laughed, and decided to have it shortened.

Jack came down the stairs. "Hello, dear Sally." He kissed her on the cheek affectionately. "Listen, there's something... I have to say..." he said, a bit nervously.

Sally crossed her arms with an understanding look on her face. "Is there something wrong?" It was okay; she had been half-expecting this. It was actually quite often that her loving husband was called off to aid with the town's affairs.

Jack sighed and dropped his head, looking pitiful. "It seems that there's some trouble going on in the residential area. Some hooligans are causing problems. The Mayor asked me to go take care of it. It shouldn't take too long, I promis I'll-"

Sally gently cut him off. "It's all right, Jack. I understand. As the Pumpkin King you have many duties you must take care of. The town would fall apart without you." She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled.

Jack brightened up. "Thank you, Sally. I'm so glad you're such a patient person. I really feel bad, we've been planning this picnic for weeks and I just don't want to miss it-"

"Don't worry about it. Minerva and I will be waiting for you to get back." She started lightly pushing him through the door. "Bye, dear. Hurry back."

He grinned and opened the door. "I will, now; I promise." He kissed her again and walked down the steps and out through the gate. Sally watched him until he was out of sight, and then her smile slowly sunk into a frown. She sighed softly and went back to making lunch. But then she started thinking: what if Jack got caught up in something and got carried away? He surely wouldn't be back in time for the picnic, then.

She put down the knife and stared out the window, thinking deeply. It couldn't hurt if she just went after Jack and made sure that he came back soon, could it? Of coarse not! But Minerva...

Sally went back over to the door and cupped her hand around her mouth. "Zero," she called.

There was a sharp bark and shortly the little ghost dog floated into sight and over to her, hovering in the air with a playful look on his face. "Good boy!" She said smiling. "Now listen closely, I need to go out for a little bit and watch Jack. Can you keep Minerva in the yard and out of trouble for me?"

Zero nodded and yipped again. Sally patted his head and he wafted aside so that she could pass.


	10. Minerva Is Tricked

A/N: I accidentally gave the last chapter this one's name cuz I wasn't paying attention. xD I didn't know what to call it, so I renamed it something totally stupid. This chapter is the actual "Minerva is tricked."

Crouched in their hiding place, the girls watched the red-head close the gate behind her. "I thought she would never leave!" cried Shock in relief. "Oogie was right, though, her curiosity _did_ eventually get the best of her. Well, come on, let's go get that girl. And you'd better not mess up! Barrel's not here to protect you from me if you do..." she added with a sneer.

Holly crossed her arms and tried to look tough.

"Zero! Zero, where _are_ you?" whined the five year old, wandering around the house in search of her best friend. She was very tiny, in contrast to her shockingly tall parents. She had faded green skin that was stitched together like her mother's, and long blue-violet hair that was straight and fine, but two or three strands stuck out in an amazingly curly way.

She only had one eye. Why? She was born that day. It's the kind of thing that happens when a ragdoll and a skeleton have a child together. Her one eye was black where the white should have been, and the iris and pupil were all melted together in a bright pink color. Where her other eye would have been was a simply hollow black hole. Her feet were bare and she was wearing a peculiar, flowing white dress that fell to her mid-thighs.

Shock and Holly approached the little girl as casually as they could. Shock looked like she knew what she was doing, but Holly seemed nervous and unsure about this.

"Hi there, little girl!" said Shock as sweetly as she could.

Which, apparently wasn't very sweet, because both Holly and Minerva raised an eyebrow at her.

"Who are you?" demanded Minerva, putting her hands on her hips and looking a heck of a lot more disagreeable than a child of Jack and Sally should.

"We're, uh, your new neighbors!" continued Shock with a smile that could make a cockroach keel over and die.

"Wanna come play with us?" said Holly, frowning. She didn't like doing this, but at least she could make sure nothing happened to the little girl while she was there.

Minerva laughed and giddily skipped over to them. "You got lotsa neat toys?" she said innocently, eagerly leaning forward.

"You bet we do," said Shock, zoning out, her voice losing the whole "sweet" edge it had to it. Minerva cocked her head to the side questioningly, just as Zero popped out of nowhere and started barking his transparent head off at the two intruders.

Holly squeeked and hid behind Shock, who kicked her from in front and caused the girl to pick up her wounded leg and hop around like a demented rabbit. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Bad Zero!" said Minerva harshly. Zero turned his head to her, confused, and whimpered. "Be nice!" she commanded. Zero turned his head to the older girls and growled dangerously.

"We have to hurry," said Shock urgently. "It's almost time for the boys to go to Town Hall."

Minerva grinned unknowingly and wagged her finger at Zero. "Stay here, okay?"

The dog looked like he would rather stay with her, but luckily he decided not to anger his friend. After all, what harm could come from playing with the neighborhood children? They looked old enough to be better babysitters than him, anyway. So he stopped growling, and merely watched as the two girls led Minerva off to play with their toys, the blonde one holding her hand.

Jack dodged the attacks of the two cloaked figures, jumping anywhere and everywhere in the midst of all of the confusion.

One of the figures was cackling in a nerve-grating way, and flinging daggars at Jack incessantly. On their own they wouldn't be so hard to evade, but the silent figure's cracks with the whip combined with the projectiles was almost too much to take. These two were almost as agile and quick as he, and this was not good for the Pumpkin King.

Sally watched from the shadows, a worried look on her face. She clutched a pillar tightly, praying for the safety of her loved one. He was the best there was, why were these two giving him such a hard time? He had been fighting for a while, and she could tell he was starting to tire.

"Who are you!" he cried, after swifty spinning out of reach of another crack of the whip. Several daggars flew by him without warning, one of them skimming his sleeve and tearing it. He frowned deeply and glared at his attackers. "Why are you making trouble in my town!"

But the strangers said nothing; they merely continued their onslaught of dangerous attacks. Jack was starting to lose his breath. "Only cowards keep silent!" he persisted, in hopes that it would fool them into revealing their identities and purpose.

The clock struck one. The two mysterious figures stopped suddenly, and took one look at each other before the one with the whip threw down a smoke bomb.

Jack squinted through the smoke but the strangers were gone. Coughing, he whirled around in a desperate attempt to relocate them. The smoke cleared, and he heard someone dear to him frantically calling out his name...

"Jack! ...Jack!"

"Sally!" cried Jack in shock as his wife rushed over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came along to make sure you'd remember our picnic, Jack - I left Minerva at home with Zero, I'm worried about her now! Those two are up to something! What if they're out for more than just a little fun? They seemed like they were in some awful hurry!" She was out of breath and shaking with worry. It always tore Jack up to see Sally like this. His wife was such a caring person.

"Let's go," he said urgently, pulling her along by her wrist.

The intercom from Town Hall initiated with an ear-splitting crack. Then a familiar voice sporting a taunting tone came on. "Good morning Halloween Town! Jack, specifically. I hope you had fun with our little distraction, because do we have news for you!" The voice's owner erupted in hysterical laughter.

"I... know that voice!" started Jack. "That's got to be Lock!" He ran a little bit faster.

The next voice that came on was flat and unenthusiastic. "Yeah, so, we've like..." he paused to sigh. "Kidnapped your daughter."

"Barrel...!" said Sally breathlessly as she struggled to keep up.

Lock came back on, a mocking edge in his voice. "Lord Oogie is _back!_ And this time, he will reign supreme!" he hollered joyously.

"So if you want your daughter back... uh... come to the old lair and prepare for a fight. ...Wait, is that right? I don't think that's right..."

"Time is running out, Jack," said Lock darkly. "Give up your title as king to Oogie and you might get your precious little brat back in one piece."

There was another haunting squeal and the intercom was silenced.


	11. Barrel's Regret

A/N: Aww, such nice reviews, you guys make me feel so LOVED :D

Lady Luck stared deeply into her reflection in the full length mirror that Oogie had supplied her with. Her appearance was as perfect as could be, but through her eyes it was still not good enough. She wanted to be the most beautiful woman in existance, even though a truly wise person knows beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there can _never_ be someone most beautiful to everyone.

She was so caught up in running her fingers through her waist-length, fire-red hair, that she didn't realize that her supplied luck was running out for a certain group of boys and girls...

Oogie knocked on the wall to the enclosed room she had been hiding in and her head passed through as if the wall had been nothing but an illusion.

"What?" she snapped crossly, eager to get back to primping.

"Miss Luck, if it weren't for your equally high status, you can be _sure_ Oogie Boogie wouldn't let you get away with such a tone," he said with a mischevious smirk.

Lady Luck frowned and rolled her eyes. "Get to the point, I am a very busy woman."

Oogie put his hands on his hips and grimaced. "The girls have arrived with Jack's kid. They're taking her to my old lair. _We_ have to get there before Jack does, or else the plan will be..."

"Vain?" asked Lady Luck, wrinkling her nose with a childish smirk.

_"You_ would know all about being _vain,"_ he spat, walking away from her.

"Me? Vain? Hardly," she said with an casual laugh.

Oogie lost it and growled and turned to face her. "STOP DISTRACTING ME WITH YOUR POINTLESS RAMBLING, WOMAN!" The leader of Clover City just shrugged, smiling innocently. "We _would _have left sooner, but _somebody_ was off getting her _nails_ done," hissed the boogie man, shooting her a glare with the emphasis of the word "somebody."

Lady Luck floated completely out of the secret room and stood with her chest out and her arms crossed in mid-air. "Let's leave then. I'm not doing anything to slow us down."

Oogie grumbled incoherently to himself and pulled a lever on a far wall. Some of the wall slid away, revealing a secret passage out. Turning back at her, he added, "And would you be so _kind_ as to turn off the sparkles? It'd be nice if there wasn't a blinding green light giving me away and attracting the whole town..."

"Hmph!" complained the woman as she faded into the background.

"I need you to go on home and wait for me, Sally, I don't want you to be in any danger," explained Jack as they ran towards the fountain.

"All right Jack, just, please..." she panted, at her whole arm's length behind Jack. "...be careful..."

They stopped and Sally sighed before turning and running back to their home. All of the townspeople must have known something was up, because there was not a single person around. Jack started for the tree house with a determined look on his skull.

"Not so fast, Jack!" said a voice. Jack gasped and turned to Town Hall. Lock and Barrel were on the roof. They were still garbed in the black cloaks, but the hoods were down. Lock was standing up with a crazy smile on his face and a handful of throwing daggars. Barrel was sitting down with his legs hanging over the side and his fists propping up his chin. He had a preturbed look on his face.

"Oh, I see," said Jack loudly, severely annoyed. "You're not going to let me pass, are you?"

Lock leapt off of the roof and landed swiftly on the ground. "That's right. What, you think we'd make things _easy_ for you?" he said mockingly, standing tall.

Jack shook his head. "I think I know you better than that. Very, well," he said with a heavy sigh, "I guess I'll have to take care of you, first."

Lock grinned psychotically and without warning flung some daggars at Jack, which the skeleton dodged easily. Jack started after him, and Lock ran counter-clockwise around the fountain, attacking every few seconds. None of the attempts even came close to striking the pumpkin king.

The game of cat and mouse went on for a while, and Jack was getting tired of this nonsense. He flipped over the fountain with an amazing display of gracefulness, and landed perfectly erect on the fountain's ledge.

Lock gasped and backed up some, giving his throwing daggars one more shot. Three zipped around either side of the Pumpkin King, missing him by mere inches, but one was dead aimed for his skull. Normally daggars would be nothing to worry about for Jack, but these were so sharp and being flung with such force that they could _permanently_ slice his bones into pieces.

Jack caught the daggar in his bony hand and angrily sent it flying back at Lock. The daggar stuck in the the wall right above the boy's head. Lock's eyes went wide with fear and he bit his lip. Why was he feeling signifigantly weaker than before! Just before, when he fought Jack the last time, he felt faster, more agile, more clever, and stronger, too. Why should he be any worse this time around?

Jack walked up to the boy with a stern look on his face. Lock, determined to not give up, tried to throw a punch but Jack just caught his hand as if it was nothing and threw it aside, before countering with a hard knock to his jaw.

Lock flew in the direction of the punch and landed in a heap on the floor. He sat up, rubbing his face, took one look at the Pumpkin King, and hurriedly ran off.

Frowning, Jack glared up at Barrel, whose eyes were not full of fear, but still slanted pessimistically. He jumped to the ground in the same fashion as Lock and stared back at Jack.

"I suppose you want to try your luck?" asked Jack with contempt.

Barrel said not a word, but he stuck his arm straight out, his whip gripped in his hand. Jack prepared himself for another fight, but the jade-haired boy's fingers released the weapon, and it clumsily flopped to the ground. Jack's eyes widened in surprise and he looked back at the boy with confusion.

"I used to be a lot different," he said to Jack with the same angry stare on his face. "I used to laugh and be clueless and look stupid to others. I was the one of Oogie's Boys everyone used to make fun of, and no one took me seriously. Now, I never laugh. People fear me, and I get respect from them." Jack watched the boy, unsure what to say. "I used to be happy. But now, I'm practically dead inside. I thought there was nothing left for me to do in this world. I don't know what separated me from Lock and Shock, but I grew into a person full of self-loathing and hatred. At least, that was before I met... her." Jack curiously raised his eye. What was Barrel getting at? "That's what makes me and you alike, Jack. We both want to protect what we care about. I don't want Oogie to win. I don't want to work for him anymore. If he wins, then my hopes of being happy will be crushed. I can't ever go back to being that innocent little boy that I was, but I don't want to die as the town's enemy either. Come with me; I'll show you a shortcut to the tree house."

Jack walked forward and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, smirking. "I'm proud of you, Barrel. Take me to my daughter." Barrel nodded and started in the direction of the tree house.

At the entrance to the tree house, Shock was waiting to have her turn against the Pumpkin King. "Well, look who's finally here!" she cackled, then set eyes on Barrel. "What! What are _you_ doing here! Did you lead him? You traitor!" she hissed, pulling out a rapier. "I knew you weren't loyal to Lord Oogie!"

"Go get your daughter, Jack. I'll take care of this spoiled brat," snapped Barrel, slipping a spare knife out from his pocket. Jack nodded and ran past the infuriated girl. Shock's eye was twitching with anticipation and she was growling dangerously.

"Come on, Shock, do you really want to fight your own cousin?" he asked with a sigh. He really didn't want to fight his relative, that just didn't seem right to him.

"You lied to us!" she hissed. "Betrayed us and helped our enemy! All along, you were on _his_ side, weren't you! Don't you know what kind of danger that puts us in when Oogie wins? He'll kill all of us!" She was now more upset than angry, and Barrel could see the fear deep in her eyes.

"Oogie's _not_ gonna win," he replied with a frown. "Jack's beat him before, he'll beat him again."

"Not this time," she cried, clutching her hands into tight fists to keep from screaming. "Oogie's got a secret weapon! Don't you know? Either way, we're gonna get punished, Barrel! Either Oogie because of what you've done or Jack because of what we've done!"

"Please, Shock put that sword away and have faith in Jack. He'll make things right," pleaded Barrel, putting the knife back.

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! It's all over! Unless... unless I kill you..." Her eyes widened as fear drove out the rest of her sanity.

"Wh-what! Shock, what is _wrong _with you?" asked Barrel in amazement, taking a step back.

"K...K...Kill the traitor and Oogie will reward me. That's okay... right?" she asked herself as she stared at the ground.

"You're crazy!" cried Barrel, throwing his arm into the air.

She merely laughed and lunged.


	12. A Father's Love

A/N: Yeees, I am back from my vacation now. Feel free to cry out "yay!" while your eyes fill with tears of joy, or pummel me with bad fruit. Or sharp objects. (It's your call.) It's only been two months though, so don't be too unkind to me, okay? Lol. The end is once again drawing near. I was gonna include more in this chapter, but ARGH these fight scenes just WEAR ME OUT. I can barely handle one, let alone two!

Barrel gritted his teeth as he climbed the rope to the tree house. The elevator was out of commission, and his arm was killing him.

The fight with Shock had not gone so well. She had attacked him in a blind madness with an almost zombie-like look in her eyes.

Barrel knew that look well. It was the look he often wore when he found it hard to go on. It was the look of no emotions. It was the look of a person who was dead inside.

At first he was merely on the defensive side, sloppily and barely dodging every thrust she made with her sword to his adrenaline-pumped body. His eyes were wide and he was afraid.

...He was afraid. It was the first time he had felt that emotion in ages. He wasn't afraid for himself, but for Shock. What had she become? And how could he get out of this without hurting her or getting hurt himself?

She had let out an angry howl as she missed him again. Maybe he could use her rage to his advantage somehow...

He grabbed a low branch of the tree house and swung himself up onto it. Shock growled and stomped her foot. She knew she wasn't agile enough to follow him up there. "COME DOWN FROM THERE, YOU COWARD!"

"Hey Shock!" he called, putting on a mocking face in spite of his thundering heart. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all. "What's it feel like going after an unarmed man? You have that rapier and all I have is this useless daggar," he continued, taking it out and turning it in his hands.

"What's your point!" she hissed, growing more impatient by the second.

He shook his head, a light smile playing on his lips. "Don't you think it would be more fun to tear me apart with your bare hands? What do you need that thing for anyway?"

Shock slitted her eyes and prodded the air below him with her weapon. "It doesn't matter to me _how_ I tear you apart, just as long as I get it done!"

Barrel stuck the daggar into the tree and shrugged. "But don't you think that Oogie would respect you more if you beat me bare-handed? I mean, it doesn't take much to take out somebody like this. But, if you put that thing away and kill me yourself, Oogie would appreciate it more. He'd have more faith in you."

Shock's lip twitched and she sneered at her cousin. "You're just sayin' that 'cause you think it gives you a better chance to survive. But you _do_ have a point though. ...Fine! I'll break your pansy ass without this thing! But I'm telling you, this isn't gonna change the outcome!" She flung her arm out and let the sword fly. With a twang it stuck itself into the bark of a far-off tree.

Needless to say, Shock did not win the fight. Barrel had had the disadvantage at first, but with his aquired wit, had outsmarted Shock and managed to deliver a blow to her head that he knew would knock her out for some time, without actually injuring her permanently. He, however, had been shoved wrong and hit the ground at an awkward angle, causing his arm to be bent in ways it should not have been. And aside from that, he was badly bruised and physically exhausted. _I wonder how Jack's holding up,_ he thought nervously, before dropping down into one of the many entrances to the underground lair.

The old lair was just as Jack remembered it, only it seemed worse somehow.

_"Oogie!" _demanded Jack with a tone harsher than any anybody had ever heard him speak with. It sent shivers up Holly's spine. "Show yourself this instant!"

A shrill cry from above tugged at Jack's heart.

"Daddy!" sobbed Minerva, gripping the iron bars of the birdcage with her tiny, shaking hands. She was being imprisoned high above the skeleton's head, far out of his reach.

He frowned with sympathy and called out to her to try and calm her. "Don't worry, Minerva, daddy's... daddy's here..." As his voice trailed off he heard a delighted, awful, obnoxious laugh in front of him.

"Aww, how sweet. Jackie finds his daughter at last. Are you gonna start bawlin' too?" Oogie mocked, leaning on a sort of torture device.

"You just keep your mouth shut!" cried Jack, filling with disgust. "Now I want some answers!"

Oogie shook his head playfully and chuckled. "Now, now, Jack, if I were you I wouldn't talk to me that way. We wouldn't want your precious offspring to have a sudden ... _drop,_ now, would we?"

Jack's sockets widened as he was overwhelmed with worry. "You wouldn't..."

Oogie grinned darkly. "Oh, I would, Jack. You and I _both_ know that, don't we?"

Jack sighed and flexed his fists, wondering what to do. "...Do you really think luck is on your side?" he asked, drawing strength from hearing his poor daughter despair.

"Baby, I _know_ it is," cackled the Boogie man, puffing out his enormous stomach. "We can test that out if you're feelin' doubtful."

Jack glared back at him with determination. "That's an offer I'll be _glad_ to take you up on."

Above and across from Minerva, our unfortunate aqquaintence Holly was trying to comfort the poor child. "Please don't be scared, Minerva!" She had been told to manage the cage, in case Jack did decide to make the trade of his status for his daughter. "I'm... I'm very sorry I put you through all of this... I... It's all my fault..." Holly's voice disappeared as she recognized the truth. It _was_ all her fault. She had agreed to go live with Barrel. She had agreed to work for Oogie. And she had condemned this little girl from the moment she had left the pumpkin patch with the jade-haired boy.

Holly sunk to the ground. "Ohh, man... I'm so sorry... so sorry... I should have... should have done something... to keep Shock from taking you here. I should have brought you back home... You don't deserve this! And now I'm going to be remembered as... the girl who helped kidnap the Pumpkin King's daughter..." she sighed, tears welling up in her eyes. Faced with such a situation, was she actually doing the impossible - was she actually... _maturing?_

Also watching the confrontation, although hidden from view, was the queen of St. Patrick's Day. She was glowing a bright emerald all over from the effort of sending Oogie as much luck as she could. Her eyes almost seemed like a cat's as they took in the scene below her.

_I can almost understand how Jack feels... having so many children, it's inevitable that I'd lose some. But to have one so close within your grasp, but out of reach... It must be torture._

Little did she know that her situation was quite similar...

"Well, Jack, you could have just surrendered your title as King of Halloween to me in exchange for the safe and simple return of your daughter, but I guess I'll have to show you a thing or two first," Oogie chuckled, taking a step forward.


End file.
